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IMAM ALI (AS)'S SERMON ON TAUHEED IN NAHJUL BALAGHA
The Gateway of Knowledge of the
City of Knowledge– The Holy
Prophet (S) had delivered 241
sermons collected in Nahjul
Balagha. He had referred to
Allah’s attributes in the
following sermons: sermon # 45,
49, 65, 85, 90, 94, 109, 133,
152, 160, 163, 179, 183, 185,
186, 191, 198, and 211. His
sermon #186 on Tauheed is
reproduced below:
Time does not keep company with
Him, and implements do not help
Him. His being precedes time.
His Existence precedes
non-existence and His eternity
precedes beginning. By His
creating the senses it is known
that He has no senses. By the
contraries in various matters it
is known that He has no
contrary, and by the similarity
between things it is known that
nothing is similar to Him. He
has made light the contrary of
darkness, brightness that of
gloom, dryness that of moisture,
and heat that of cold. He
produces affection among hostile
things.
He fuses together diverse
things, brings near remote
things, and separates things
which are joined together. He is
not confined by limits, nor
counted by numbers. Material
parts can surround things of
their own kind, and organs can
point out things similar to
themselves. The word “munzu”
(since) disproves their
eternity, the word “qad” (that
denotes nearness of time of
occarence), disproves their
being from ever and the word “lawla”
(if it were not) keep them
remote from perfection.
Through them the Creator
manifests Himself to the
intelligence, and through them
He is guarded from the sight of
the eyes.
Stillness and motion do not
occur in Him, and how can that
thing occur in Him, who He has
Himself made to occur, and how
can a thing revert to Him whom
He first created, and how can a
thing appear in Him which He
first brought to appearance. If
it had not been so, His Self
would have become subject to
diversity, His Being would have
become divisible (into parts),
and His Reality would have been
prevented from being deemed
Eternal. If there was a front to
Him there would have been a rear
also for Him. He would need
completing only if shortage
befell Him. In that case signs
of the created would appear in
Him, and He would become a sign
(leading to other objects)
instead of signs leading to Him.
Through the Might of His
abstention (from affectedness)
He is far above being affected
by things which affect others.
He is that which does not change
or vanish. The process of
setting does not behoove Him. He
has not begotten anyone lest He
be regarded as having been born.
He has not been begotten
otherwise He would be contained
within limits. He is too High to
have sons. He is too purified to
contact women. Imagination
cannot reach Him so as to assign
Him quantity. Understanding
cannot think of Him so as to
give Him shape. Senses do not
perceive Him so as to feel Him.
Hands cannot touch Him so as to
rub against Him. He does not
change into any condition. He
does not pass from one state to
another. Nights and days do not
turn Him old. Light and darkness
do not alter Him.
It cannot be said that He has a
limit or extremity, or end or
termination; nor do things
control Him so as to raise Him
or lower Him, nor does anything
carry Him so as to bend Him or
keep Him erect. He is not inside
things or outside them. He
conveys news but not with tongue
or voice. He listens, but not
with the holes of the ears or
the organs of hearing. He says,
but does not utter words. He
remembers, but does not
memorize. He determines, but not
exercising His mind. He loves
and approves without
sentimentality (of hart). He
hates and feels angry without
any painstaking. When He intends
to create someone, He says “Be”
and there he is, but not through
a voice that strikes (the ears)
is that call heard. His speech
is an act of His creation. His
like never existed before this.
If had been eternal it would
have been the second god.
It cannot be said that He came
into being after He had not been
in existence because in that
case the attributes of the
created things would be assigned
to Him and there would remain no
difference them and Him, and He
would have no distinction over
them. Thus, the Creator and the
created would become equal and
the initiator and the initiated
would be on the same level. He
created (the whole of) creation
without any example made by
someone else, and He did not
secure the assistance of any one
out of His creation for creating
it.
He created the earth and
suspended it without being busy,
retained it without support,
made it stand without legs,
raised it without pillars,
protected it against bending and
curving and defended it against
crumbling and splitting (into
parts). He fixed mountains on it
like stumps, solidified its
rocks, caused its streams to
flow and opened wide its
valleys. Whatever He made did
not suffer from any flow, and
whatever He strengthened did not
show any weakness.
He manifests Himself over the
earth with His authority and
greatness. He is aware of its
inside through His knowledge and
understanding. He has power over
every thing in the earth by
virtue of His Sublimity and
dignity. Nothing from the earth
He may ask for defies Him, nor
does it oppose Him so as to
overpower Him. No swift-footed
creator can run away from Him so
as to surpass Him. He is not
needy towards any possessing
person so that he should feed
Him. All things bow to Him and
are humble before His greatness.
They cannot flee away from His
authority to some one else in
order to escape His benefit or
His harm. There is no parallel
for Him who may match Him and no
one like Him so as to equal Him.
He will destroy the earth after
its existence, till all that
exist on it will become
non-existent. But the extinction
of the world after its creation
is no stranger than its first
formation and invention. How
could it be? Even all the
animals of the earth, whether
birds or beasts, stabled cattle
or pasturing one, of different
origins and species, dull people
and sagacious men—all jointly
try to create (even) a mosquito
they are not able to bring it to
being and do not understand what
is the way to its creation.
Their wits are bewildered and
wandering. Their powers fall
short and fail, and return
disappointed and tired, knowing
that they are defeated and
admitting their inability to
produce it, also realizing they
are too weak (even) to destroy
it.
Surely, after the extinction of
the world, Allah, the Glorified,
will remain alone with nothing
else beside Him. He will be,
after its extinction, as He was
before its production: without
time or place or moment or
period. At this moment period
and time will not exist, and
years and hours will disappear.
There will be nothing except
Allah, the One, and the
All-Powerful. To Him is the
return of all matters. Its
initial creation was not in its
power; and the prevention of its
extinction was (also) not in its
power. If it had power to
prevent it, it would have
existed for ever. When He made
anything of the world, the
making of it did not cause Him
any difficulty, and the creation
of any thing which He created
and formed did not fatigue Him.
He did not create it to heighten
His authority nor for fear of
loss or harm, nor to seek its
help against an over whelming
foe, nor to guard against any
avenging opponent with its help,
nor for the extension of His
domain by its help, nor for
boasting (over largeness of His
possession) against a partner,
nor because He felt lonely and
desired to seek its company.
Then after its creation He will
destroy it, but not because any
worry has overcome Him, in its
upkeep and administration, nor
for any pleasure that will
accrue to Him, nor for the
cumbrousness of any thing over
Him. The length of its life does
not weary Him so as to induce
Him to its quick destruction.
But, Allah the Glorified has
maintained it with His kindness,
kept it intact with His command
and perfected it with His Power.
Then, after its destruction, He
will resuscitate it, but not for
any need of His own towards it,
nor to seek assistance of any of
its things against it, nor to
change over the condition of
loneliness to that of company,
nor from the condition of
ignorance and blindness, to that
of knowledge and search, nor
from paucity and need towards
needless and plenty, nor from
disgrace and lowliness towards
honor and prestige. |
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